In a groundbreaking move, the US military has entered into a high-tech partnership with India to create the world’s first multi-material semiconductor fabrication unit dedicated to national security. The agreement, signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden, marks a significant development in the India-US strategic partnership, aimed at establishing a new semiconductor plant. This facility will produce chips essential for advanced warfare technologies, such as high-tech sensing systems, advanced communication devices, and high-voltage power electronics.
The upcoming fabrication unit will be located in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, adjacent to the newly developing Jewar Airport. Currently, India imports over one billion dollars’ worth of semiconductors annually for national security purposes. Sources reveal that this multi-chip military fab is expected to result in significant knowledge and technology transfer, leading to import substitution worth nearly ₹6000 crore for India. With this partnership, India joins an exclusive group of nations capable of manufacturing such advanced chips domestically.
This collaboration is the latest achievement in the growing semiconductor cooperation between India and the US, supported by the Indo-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET). It also follows a recently signed agreement to explore semiconductor manufacturing in India under the US CHIPS Act. The development of this semiconductor fab will be backed by the US Space Force, the Indian Semiconductor Mission, and Indian semiconductor companies Bharat Semiconductors and 3ediTech. The facility, likely to be named “Shakti,” will have both design and fabrication capabilities.
According to sources familiar with the agreement, the plant will house a testing center, a center of excellence, a design center, and two fabrication units. The fab will focus on large-scale manufacturing of chips for a variety of defense and technological platforms, including night vision equipment, missile seekers, space sensors, drones, fighter jets, electric vehicles, military communication systems, radars, and jammers. In the future, India and the US may consider exporting these semiconductors to Quad nations, the Asia-Pacific region, and Africa. The joint statement issued after the Modi-Biden bilateral meeting emphasized that the new fab would manufacture infrared, gallium nitride, and silicon carbide semiconductors.
Both nations have committed to building a resilient semiconductor supply chain, marking the first time the US military and the US Space Force have entered into such a collaborative effort. Sources note that, aside from China, no other nation in the Indo-Pacific region possesses the capability to produce these cutting-edge chips.
Addressing the Indian diaspora in New York, Prime Minister Modi remarked, “You will soon see a made-in-India chip in America as well. Such cutting edge will take India to new heights and this is Modi Ki Guarantee.”
